Lloyds Bank accepts ID documents uploaded on social media

Lloyds Bank group is enabling customers to upload copies of documents used for identification through technology used in social media, reducing the need to visit a branch.

Customers and prospective clients of Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland can from February 2015 upload documents for identification and verification purposes with smartphones, tablets and computers that have cameras. The service will use software used in social media.

The electronic identification and verification checks will be rolled out to customers next week. Initially it will be made available to customers who want to add someone to an existing account, but later all customers using any current account applications will be able to use it, as will savings and credit card customers.

Lloyds Banking Group digital director, Miguel-Ángel Rodríguez-Sola said the development will make it easier for people to change banks. “The industry wide current account switch service (seven day switching service) has already demonstrated a positive effect on switching in UK banking, and we believe this use of digital electronic identification technology can have an additional beneficial impact.”